Tax Credit Over-Payments

Gordon Brown: Europe must adapt to the changing balance of global economic activity and the rise of fast-growing emerging economies. Only a globally-orientated Europe—focused on macro-economic stability, marrying flexibility and fairness in employment markets, championing enterprise and innovation, and open to trade—can forge a new route to social justice in a global age.
	Among the reform initiatives we wish to move forward to help equip Europe to meet the global economic challenge:
	Competitiveness and Regulation
	Reaching agreement among all 25 member states to the six presidencies initiative, putting regulatory reform at the heart of ECOFIN's work programme.
	A risk-based approach to EU regulation that cuts down on administrative burdens.
	All regulatory proposals to be tested for their impact on competitiveness.
	Setting up an independent business-led advisory group to give business a central role in the EU rule-making and simplification process.
	The European Lamfalussy Committees on banking, securities and insurance to report annually to ECOFIN, starting during the UK presidency, on proposals to reduce burdens on business.
	Jobs
	Member States to publish Lisbon National Reform Programmes explaining how they will each implement further structural reform, including reform of their labour markets.
	Competition, State Aid & Innovation
	Delivering full energy market liberalisation by 2007.
	A new framework for an ambitious, in-depth approach to market investigations and a clear timetable for identifying priority sectors for investigation.
	The UK will chair a conference in London in July to reinforce commitments to reduce distortive state aids.
	Progress on a more cost-effective European intellectual property regime.
	International cooperation
	An EU-lndia financial markets regulatory dialogue, parallel to the EU-China dialogue.
	USA-EU cooperation
	Calling on the EU-US summit in June to set out an ambitious new economic partnership including creating a barrier free transatlantic financial market.
	And because I believe this aim of European economic reform is one around which we can build a national consensus and one that all parties will want to support, I have written to my hon. Friend the Member for Huddersfield (Mr. Sheerman), to ask whether his Committee on Europe can take the lead in this work. I urge all parties to participate.

Adam Ingram: Members would wish to be aware of changes to the base ports of the Royal Navy's mine counter measures squadrons.
	Following on from announcements made in the July 2004 Defence White Paper, the Royal Navy has considered how best to re-organise mine counter measures squadrons to deliver the operational capabilities required in the future. Due to: the variations in the types of sonar on the two classes; the requirement for some Hunts, which can be used for fishery protection duties, to be co-located with the fishery protection squadron in Portsmouth; and because we wish to cause the minimum amount of disruption to individuals, it has been decided that the best long term option will be provided by the formation of two single class squadrons.
	This means that, in the future, all eight Hunt class vessels will be based in Portsmouth while all eight Sandown class vessels will be based in Scotland (Faslane). The changes required to achieve this will be complete by March 2007.
	Some 150 or so personnel are involved. For them and their families this change provides an opportunity to introduced long-term stability. No personnel will be made redundant as a result of the changes in basing arrangements.

Publication of the Independent Monitor's Report for 2003

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